I’ve been waiting and waiting for October to bring you Harry, Ron and Hermione at HOGWARTS! I bought Robby for the sole purpose of making him Ron for these scenes (oh, and because he has freckles and red hair like me 🙂

Here they are in their potions class (click to enlarge)

After which they need to relax and swap some chocolate frog cards. (Please excuse the horrible way I tied their ties!)

Their robes and books are a free pattern here: https://jenwrenne.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/hogwarts-spellbooks-for-dolls-tutorial/
and there is also a link to a really neat marauder’s map.
The newspaper, chocolate frog box and cards were found in a google image search and shrunk to doll size and the vials/bottles were found in the scrapbooking section of the craft store.The shirt and tie patterns are free here: hogwarts shirt and tie pattern
and I used the boy fairy pants pattern lengthened and closed in front with velcro. The jeans pattern would work too. If you scroll waaay down, you can see an adaptation of this pattern to make a western shirt.

I’ve been doing some other Fall sewing for the dolls (it gets cold early up here!) and recently drafted a few new patterns.
With the introduction of more patterns, I realize it’s getting hard to find them! You can still email me to order them OR I have set up an etsy store where you can buy them with just a few clicks and they will be emailed to you within 24 hours (usually sooner). http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenwrenne

New patterns I have just listed are overalls (suggested by Pauline N. who gets hers for FREE!)

and Fall jackets.

Funny story…I had the picture for the red jacket in my head and as I drafted and sewed it I couldn’t think where I might have gotten the idea. When I Skyped my 14 year old niece and showed it to her she said, “That’s my Anthropologie jacket!” and ran to get it and show me. Sure enough, they are very similar, although hers is plaid and thigh length. But if it’s trendy enough for her to approve, you can be confident your dolls will be at the height of fashion in theirs. Also included is a variation for a bomber-style jacket and a ruffled skirt.

These are seen here paired with “too-cute boots” (that’s really what they’re called!) from Target, whose selection of 18” doll accessories seems to be improving in quality. The boots fit the Kidz well; the shoes are a little loose.

I am starting to design more for the Hearts for Hearts Girls and have resized the Fall Jackets pattern to fit them too – it’s included free in the larger size one. Look for more to come for those dolls as well! I’m working on the fairy patterns at the moment…

Make sure to follow the blog for updates and more free patterns delivered to your email! A new dress for Sasha and a photo contest are coming Oct 12th…

Normally this blog shows you how to make stuff for your dolls, but sometimes I just want to share some cute pictures. This gnome was made by Pat C. from the fairy patterns (and I am so envious of her perfect hand stitching!):

Paradise horses (http://paradise-horses.com/our_products/horses) makes a line to fit 18” dolls that is sold at Walmart, which made me extremely skeptical about their quality. Well, I am excited to say that in my opinion it is probably the best 18” doll horse around. In my quest for a decent doll horse, I immediately dismissed the Target ones, because they don’t have fur and (judging by old ones I’ve seen at thrift stores) their bodies do not hold up well over time. The AG horses do have fur, but it’s sort of a skin slipped over a plastic body and the serging around the ears and legs just looks silly. Both of those horses are completely un-poseable, so they are always stuck in a stand or gallop. The Paradise horse has 2 joints in each leg at the knee and hoof, which I found marvelous to help stabilize him on uneven ground during this photo shoot (see photo below). His ears are bendable and you can (sort of) open his mouth a little. The mane and tail are not the best quality fiber, but for the price (I think around $30) this horse was well worth it!

This is a selection of photos my husband and I took to enter in the Kidz n Cats photo contest. After several hours of “location scouting” one weekend, we found a lovely spot at a dam not too far from our house (in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies). Well, it was not far to drive, but once we parked it was about a 45 minute climb uphill to an altitude of maybe 9000’ (~2700m). We did this hike while my husband carried a huge (backpacking-type) backpack full of 2 cameras, several lenses, dolls and props.

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I was extremely pleased with the results (but sad I didn’t win the contest!) Anyway, here are a few (of the 50+ we took) photos of the “camping trip” for you to enjoy and at the bottom is a .pdf for you with doll photography tips. It’s not about lenses/focusing/etc because I know next to nothing about that. It’s more about composition – setting up your dolls to create pictures that people want to look at again and again. Click here to see it: photo tips